YouSaid · the spoken record

BOUTEFLIKA

lines on the record: 471
first: 1964-09-24
most recent: 1978-09-24
sittings or episodes: 11
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The agreements and treaties of friendship, of good-neighbourly relations and co-operation which have during this year set the seal on our links with our brothers in the Maghreb are further tokens of my country’s adherence to the fundamental principles of the Charter, and we regard them as a contribution to the peace and prosperity of nations, Harmonious relations among the Maghreb countries are an important element of peace in the Mediterranean; and to that end Algeria will work unceasingly to eliminate all factors of tension, actively favouring every form of co-operation among the coastal countries that is compatible with its freedom of choice and its uncompromising idea of national independence. 252. Of course, the United Nations is merely the reflexion of the preoccupations of its creators in a given international context.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Thus we shall play our due part in hastening the advent of an era of genuine international co-operation; at the same time we shall have created in and around our countries the basis of a durable peace for the greatest good of our peoples and of mankind. Those are the motives of the regional and international policy of Algeria. 251.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The preparations for the execution of such a programme have not got beyond the stage of an academic exercise; and the Trade and Development Board was recently unable to make the essential contribution which UNCTAD is expected to make. 249. We are fully aware that international co-operation will not come from pathetic appeals to the virtues of heart and mind, nor from a sudden desire to respect the principles of the Charter, but only from a long process in which the third world countries free themselves from foreign domination by their national and regional efforts and reach a position from which they can negotiate. 250.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The very idea of instituting a Development Decade in which national efforts would come first cannot be conceived unless the developed countries apply consequential and simultaneous measures to sustain the action of the developing. This is indeed the very essence of the development strategy, which should be conceived as a global plan of action, a perfectly co-ordinated pattern of measures. 248. It was precisely that over all approach that enabled the Group of 77 to propose to the international community, in the Charter of Algiers, the essential elements for genuine international co-operation. There has been no response yet to our programme of action.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The development of institutional structures in the United Nations, directed towards specialization of tasks according to study and evaluation of the needs of economic growth, has not been followed by a concomitant increase in the necessary funds. 246. There is no doubt that the prime responsibility for the development of the third world lies with the countries directly concerned. They are fully aware of this, for they are devoting four fifths of their internal resources to this task. At the same time their sacrifices, however great, will be fruitless unless those who have the necessary means and resources also take world-wide action to modify an international situation not designed to favour the development of our economies. 247.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“It is also rightly concerned with that other tragedy which is tearing Nigeria apart, to the profit only of those who covet the riches of that great country. The fratricidal conflict which we are witnessing in that part of our continent is painful enough because of the human dramas to which it has given rise. But the real issues require all African States to rise against secessionist ventures and safeguard their territorial integrity; otherwise the independence and unity of Africa will be jeopardized anew. 245. The solution of development problems and the building of the countries of the third world are one of the major tasks of our Organization, to which it is devoting a large part of its resources.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The failure of past efforts should make the United Nations resolve to take all the steps called for both by the fate of Namibia, for which our Organization is responsible before the bar of history, and by the policy of apartheid. The good faith and good conscience of the countries maintaining profitable but tainted relations with Pretoria will, here too, be the test of our Organization’s capacity for action. 243. In any event the subjugated peoples of southern Africa are determined to be free, counting first of all on themselves and on the solidarity of their continent. 244. Africa, emerging bruised from the colonial yoke, knows that it is still a temptation for all kinds of adventurers.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Although the international action promptly recommended against the Salisbury racists has not been taken; although the condemnations and ultimatums of the Security Council have remained dead letters and the economic sanctions, as is now clear, have failed, the United Kingdom is still bound first and foremost, as it always has been, to enable the people of Zimbabwe to accede to all their national rights. 242. Against the Pretoria regime, whose refusal to evacuate Namibia we have already recorded, it is high time that the United Nations took vigorous action, particularly as any illusion about the possibility of an agreement has been definitely dispelled.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Still less can we conceive how countries calling themselves democratic can continue to give such an anachronism financial and military support. These countries, which still reject the verdict of history and infringe this Assembly’s decisions, shoulder a heavy responsibility before Africa and the world. It is no coincidence that they are also evading their duty as trustees towards the people of Zimbabwe, whom they have delivered tied hand and foot to the regime of Jan Smith.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Yet the Africa whose joy in its own rediscovery shone under the sun of Algiers was a wounded Africa, a dismembered continent, still a bleeding prey locked in the dying throes of colonialism. 241. Our Organization has been during the last decade a helpless spectator of this unequal struggle against the forces of exploitation and oppression. Indeed, I feel somewhat embarrassed at speaking of the problems of southern Africa after the brilliant statement which the President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon made in this Assembly [1780th meeting] on behalf of the Organization of African Unity when he presented the Manifesto on Southern Africa. But how can we refrain from denouncing the intolerable sustained indifference of the human conscience to the liberation movements which still struggle against colonialism?”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The people of Viet-Nam certainly has enough strength to defeat the aggressor and build an independent, unified, democratic, peaceful and prosperous Viet-Nam. The programme of the National Liberation Front and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Viet-Nam remains the solid basis of a negotiated settlement. 239. I shall not tell you of the long and painful road which has led our continent to emancipation and to the affirmation of its personality, which was recently revealed in all its splendour at the First Pan-African Cultural Festival, which my country had the honour of welcoming and where African civilization astounded the world by its wealth and vitality. 240.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Against this proud and invincible people, unshakable in their will to freedom, the interventionist policy of the United States must cease. It will cease on the day when the aggressor recognizes unreservedly the right of the people of Viet-Nam to live in independence, as well as its sovereignty, its unity and the integrity of its national territory. It will cease on the day when the aggressor withdraws all its troops from South Viet-Nam and leaves the people of Viet-Nam to settle their affairs by themselves without interference or outside pressure of any kind. 238. It is vain to count on a supposed weariness of peoples to turn back their inexorable march towards freedom, peace and progress.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The law of the strongest has never been so prevalent, and one wonders what glory can be lawfully gained by exterminating the people of Viet-Nam. 236. This mad enterprise gives the impression that the United States is willingly playing the game of those who in Saigon and elsewhere have as their only motive the profits they derive from operating an enormous war machine. 237. The Viet-Nam affair highlights the failure of the Asian policy of the United States and demonstrates the futility of force as a means of making peoples adopt alien ideologies. To be sure, peace is slow in coming and the responsibility for the continuation of the war falls squarely on the aggressors, who are now trying to seize through negotiation what neither their vast army nor their “special warfare” could gain on the field of battle.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“They are working to create a Palestinian society within safe and recognized frontiers of eternal Palestine, a democratic and secular State in which all citizens, without distinction of race or religion, may forget their hatreds and rancours and live collectively and individually, equal in rights and duties, as a symbol of harmony and peace in this country which has cradled ancient civilizations. 235. In Viet-Nam a resistance unprecedented in history has finally brought the aggressor to the negotiating table. However, the interminable talks in Paris seem more and more to disappoint the hopes. aroused in the world for a speedy and peaceful settlement. The aggression is being multiplied and is becoming increasingly bitter, sowing ruin and desolation everywhere.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“If the occupied Arab countries are able, sovereign and unaided, to adopt what they consider the best and most appropriate means of freeing their national territories, then restoration to the Palestinian people of its lawful rights is a problem exclusively for themselves. 233. The struggle for national liberation in which the Palestinian people is engaged is in the noble tradition of peoples who have decided to fight for freedom and dignity; and Algeria, which has always identified itself with all just causes in the world, sees itself clearly reflected in the heroic Struggle of its sister nation. 234. In the year which has just passed the Palestinian fighters have increased their efforts. The world now recognizes their existence and regards them as the true representatives and spokesmen of their people.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Whereas before 1967 the Middle East problem was essentially to restore the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights, since the Israeli aggression it has been broadened by occupation of the territories of Arab Members of the United Nations. This process seems to have been started already by American imperialism when it extended the front of aggression by the mass bombing of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. 231. The territories occupied in 1967 are now tending to become the actual subject of negotiation. This approach is aimed at legitimizing the aggression of 1947 which resulted in the creation of Israel and at burying the Palestine problem by giving it a merely human value. 232.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The consequences of the Israeli aggression of 1967 and the continued occupation of Arab territories call for a serious re-examination of the situation, not only by the imperialist Powers, which have just awarded an additional prize to the aggressor in the form of the most modern weapons, but also — and above all — by those smaller countries which would like to limit themselves to the illusory role of the non-involved. 229. In this respect the fire in the Al Aqsa Mosque and its repercussions, particularly in the Moslem world, have given the Middle East problem a new dimension, The recent Islamic Summit Conference at Rabat® should awaken all those who support Israel to the risks which might arise from their actions. 230.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Though the closure of the Suez Canal deprives the United Arab Republic of considerable resources for its development, the imperialist Powers do not seem to be in any a hurry to reopen this important means of communication. The pre-1967 stagnation of their merchant shipping has since given way to a feverish activity for which they had no longer dared to hope. As a result, the new trade routes are at present passing round South Africa, so that the Pretoria racists along with their imperialist allies are the main beneficiaries of the situation imposed on the Afro-Asian victims of aggression. 228.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“By its irruption on to the international stage it joins in the courageous struggle of colonial peoples and of progressive members of the third world, of which it is an integral part. Algeria, always present where freedom and progress meet, brings its total and unconditional support, both material and political, to this struggle which will brook no compromise on the path to liberation. 227. We must consider the Middle East conflict in terms of Palestine. The 1967 aggression against the Arab countries and those which have followed it have been aimed not only at giving Israel a comfortable negotiating position but also at thwarting the economic development of the countries of the region.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“An occupied territory, a dispossessed people chased from their homeland: that is the problem of the Middle East, meaning the Palestine question, The chief purpose of implanting a European colony in Palestine by force and terror was to create in the region a rallying-point for a colonialism at bay, occupy a strategic position in the Mediterranean basin at the crossroads of three continents, control their natural wealth and strike at the liberation movement of the Arab peoples. That is the task assigned to the Zionist occupation and the Sixth Fleet. 226. Twenty years have passed, but justice has still not been done to the Palestinian people. Today, weary of hollow words and legal myths, the Palestinian people is coming out of its political ghetto to take its destiny into its own hands.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Nothing that affects Viet-Nam, Palestine, South Africa, Rhodesia, Namibia, Guinea (Bissau), Angola or Mozambique can be squared with this position. That would amount in the end to an abdication of responsibility and an acceptance of a fait accompli resulting from the balance of the strategic, military and economic interests of the great Powers. 225. For over 20 years the Middle East has been ravaged by a conflict which is deliberately not being traced to its origins. But no amount of rhetoric can conceal the facts of history. Once more a Western Power, the United Kingdom, colonized Palestine. That same Power has acted as the metropolis of world Zionism, prepared the ground for a totalitarian take-over, and deprived a people of its right of self-determination.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Non-alignment can be regarded as one of the essential conditions of that quest, even though in our view it must not consist in the uniform application of a now disputed political pattern to an international situation which has undergone tremendous changes. 223. That situation, marked by a peaceful coexistence strictly limited to the great Powers, creates more tensions for the small countries, compromising both their own existence and the international balance. Hence our attitude, if it is truly inspired by these considerations, should not be confused with a base opportunism or with a comfortable neutrality which would make us utterly indifferent to anything that might affect, directly or indirectly, the interests of the third world. 224.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“We have already pointed out in this very forum the essential incompleteness of nuclear disarmament in a world where conventional weapons have been in continuous use for over 30 years. That type of disarmament must be the work of those who variously encourage colonial adventures and expansionist enterprises. 221. A just peace cannot be made within a framework of aggression, domination, discrimination of all sorts, negation of the right of peoples to settle their own affairs, or denial of the principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. 222. The. rejection of a bipolar political system for the world has aroused in the countries of the third world a will to organize for dynamic participation in the maintenance of the international balance.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“That peace cannot be conceived in terms of a status quo more or less closely linked to ideological or strategic considerations. It must be a just and living peace, compatible with the current of history and with the aspirations of the peoples to freedom and progress. It cannot result from a fortuitous balance of the interests of great Powers dividing the world into spheres of influence. In other words, to establish a true peace the tasks of the international community must be redefined in the light not only of the prerogatives of the great Powers, but also of the hitherto ignored aspirations of the peoples. 220. While none denies that the road to a just and durable peace lies through a reduction of armaments, we feel that it would not be enough to make an agreement between the nuclear Powers the absolute condition of peace.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The international community must unhesitatingly reject that concept of peace by which the nuclear threat is to be banished only at the cost of endless wars in various countries of the third world. Apart from its dangers, this concept of peace is fallacious. It can provide only a false calm amongst the great Powers which foster and foment these localized conflicts. So tight is the solidarity of the various countries in today’s world that, although often contradictory, their diverse interests are none the less closely interdependent. 218. It is therefore obvious that the destiny of mankind cannot be settled privately between the great Powers. The people who suffer in their flesh the consequences of international tensions must be among the chief architects of peace. 219.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“But we are compelled to recognize today that it can no longer compel respect for the Charter or fulfil its mandate. Deprived of the means of dissuasion and intervention necessary for any effective action, it sees its decisions systematically ignored and its authority flouted. 216. Though the great Powers are still far from renouncing their greed or resolving their own contradictions, they have been raised by force of circumstances to be guarantors of order and of something like peace. Concerned, and rightly so, to avoid a nuclear confrontation which could well destroy them, they nevertheless tolerate limited conflicts which bring fire and sword to the nations of the third world. 217.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Thus we witness with concern an ever-widening gap between the principles which men affirm by their actions. Men speak of peace and negotiations in Viet-Nam, but multiply military operations and strengthen the murderous hand of the Saigon regime. Men speak of peace and justice in the Middle East but continue to arm the Zionist aggressor and encourage him to treat the despoiled Arab peoples with greater intransigence and cruelty. Men speak of peace and aid to development for the third world but continue to apply to it the brazen law of colonialism, exploiting its natural wealth and the fruits of its labour. 215. In order to escape from this vicious circle we should need an organization of unquestionable authority, enjoying the trust and co-operation of all States. At first our Organization should have played that part.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“That opposition of imperialism, in particular American imperialism, to liberating ideologies and revolutionary movements is the source of the present tragic situation with its great dangers for international peace and security. 213. While we continue our desperate search for solutions to the conflicts rending the world, new clouds are gathering and announcing even more sombre morrows. Hotbeds of war are threatening to spread. Tension and the cold-war atmosphere are reappearing among the great Powers, particularly in Europe. The resultant sense of insecurity leads inevitably to a new arms race, multiplying ad infinitum the production of missiles and of anti-missile missiles, and thus increasing existing arsenals. Can this enormous waste of resources, immeasurably accelerated by competition, bring any promise of peace? 214.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“In South-East Asia, the Middle East and Africa colonialism and imperialism have redoubled in aggressiveness, proliferating shams and lies in order to deny the weaker peoples their natural right to freedom and progress. 212. On the eve of the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the proclamation of the Charter of the United Nations, the international community should not blind itself to the fact that the principles it solemnly affirmed are now seriously threatened and that it is facing a very grave problem: world hegemony finding its most brutal expression in the less developed continents. That global hegemony is a challenge both to peoples still under colonial rule and to progressive societies, which have no recourse but armed struggle.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“He has more pity to spare for animals in distress on the polar cap than for his fellow men being exterminated in the rice paddies of Asia or the jungles of Africa. How long and how far will mankind march in this state of absurdity and indifference? 210. The values which, throughout history, have enabled the human genius to develop have less and less weight in modern society where, with every day that passes, the great are increasingly separated from the small, and the rich from the poor. The sufferings of the past, the ruin and genocide of yesterday, have not put an end to the thirst for conquest and hegemony engendered by material power. 211. The year that is now drawing to a close has not brought a respite to the small countries.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“208. As this year draws to a close, the international situation should incite us to make every effort to circumscribe the conflicts which are rending asunder the community of man and to find a way out of the contradictions paralysing our Organization. In this same year in which man has affirmed his mastery over his own planet and set out with magnificent energy to conquer others, wars are still consuming our world and causing grief, suffering and ruin. 209. Labouring under a strange curse, we seem to be condemned to reach at one and the same time the peaks of technology and science and the depths of selfishness and barbarism. Man in this second half of the twentieth century is so made that he masters his environment much better than his own desires and emotions.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“207. The numerous and complex questions which we ate called upon to consider at this twenty-fourth session provide so many reasons for concern and anguish that I take the liberty of beginning on a happier note by conveying my heartiest congratulations to the President on her brilliant election. There is no African who has not felt proud and gratified at seeing his continent thus honoured in the person of this daughter of the new and emancipated Africa, marching towards progress and unity. Knowing as I do her great qualities and her vast experience, I am not sure whether I should rather congratulate her or pay a tribute to the wisdom of my colleagues who have unanimously entrusted to her the heavy responsibility of presiding over our labours. Thanks to her wisdom and patience, I am certain that she will discharge this noble task in full.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“For my country this belief has become an unalterable commitment, and thus it continues to hold that wisdom will prevail over violence and hatred, and that the will to live will induce the nations and their leaders to bar the road to war and to join together to improve their lot and that of future generations. 100. The combination of the lessons of experience and the imperatives of morality can lead to an objective hope; in so great and arduous a task there will be many difficulties, and inevitable shortcomings, but we shall have the faith of all who strive for a great future. That, in any case, is the fervent wish we express on behalf of the Algerian people and which is shared by all peace-loving peoples.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“At a time when our civilization is reaching hitherto unimaginable heights, and we have so many means of ensuring human happiness, how can we allow the thirst for power and domination to condemn nations to poverty and ignorance, and deprive them of the vital sustenance of freedom? Would not solidarity among men then be but an empty word? Yet there is no denying that unless we rise above our narrow national interests and commit ourselves to complete and loyal co-operation, we shall all remain exposed to the threats of an uncertain future in which all our destinies are involved. 99. Each country represented here has formed an idea of its own contribution to the history of mankind. Before recognizing Algeria, you knew it as a country subscribing to the widely held belief that the law of nations should be upheld by all, for the benefit of all.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“The future of the United Nations still depends directly on the lasting structural reforms needed. which could ensure for the morrow a stable equilibrium for a new international order. The world has undergone far-reaching changes since the Charter was signed at San Francisco; the United Nations must adapt itself to this new order if it is not to be condemned to ineffectiveness. While its essential task is to make right triumph over might, or rather to put might at the service of right, it must not perpetuate the inequality that is based on material power. 98. The situation we have just described does not invite optimism. Though so many threats loom over him, man has never yearned more for peace.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“It is not one of the lesser merits of the United Nations that it corrects, however slightly, the unequal distribution of responsibilities in international affairs. We take this opportunity of recording our attachment to this institution, which despite its imperfections, and the inadequacy of its resources is still the last line of defence against war and the supreme hope of mankind for the preservation of peace and the strengthening of international solidarity. Once again, however, it must be stated that the Organization will not be able to perform its functions properly until it takes on its true universal character. 97. The chances of peace will remain in the balance until the problem of the organization of the world has been correctly settled.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“To be effective, however, the application of such a sound and equitable notion of co-operation must not be hindered by the interplay of international financial mechanisms which, in our view, involve additional responsibilities for the principal trading States. The least advanced countries should be on their guard against the manoeuvres of which they are always the first victims. 96. While the theme that clearly runs through all the problems we have just mentioned is the cleavage that divides the world into great and small Powers, rich countries and poor countries, at least every country has its full and equal place in the General Assembly, whose foundling principle is the equality of States.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“The movement towards economic integration in Eastern and Western Europe, as well as in North America, shows that it is in the interests of the advanced countries to help raise the purchasing power of the poorest regions. Even though this consideration is sufficient in itself, self-interest at least should induce the wealthy countries to undertake as a matter of reason and necessity the commitments they might refuse to make as a matter of international solidarity. The sound co-operation required can be based only on the notion of an international contract that excludes any bargaining on this or that aspect of the exchange, thus avoiding any risk of imbalance in the whole.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“In that connexion, it is a great pity that the international solidarity which should have been displayed to make the United Nations Capital Development Fund operational has vanished into a limbo of destructive scepticism. The small countries must still rely on their own resources and their own determination in pursuing their development efforts. The developing countries must further strengthen their solidarity and, in the absence of any international effort associating the “haves” and the “have-nots”, increase their mutual aid by pooling their resources. The concept of international co-operation must be given a new meaning in every respect, especially as it is today in serious jeopardy. It is the economic and political imbalance in the world that must be regarded as the chief cause of the difficulties we are now encountering. 95.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Hence, the first step must be to remove certain constraints of a political nature. For example, it is absolutely pointless to discuss the item entitled "Permanent sovereignty over natural resources” unless there is general agreement on the need to safeguard and respect the sovereignty of States over all their resources. To state and reaffirm the principles of natural law is useful in so far as the will exists to apply them in practice. Consequently the time has now come for our Organization to concern itself with the application of the decisions it has adopted, for that, we believe, is one of the primary conditions for the success of the next Decade. 94.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Thus one of the first demands of the young States has been for a revision of the international economic structure to bring it more into line with their interests. Moreover, the struggle against under-development, which they all had to undertake with ridiculously inadequate means, entailed aid from the most developed countries within the framework of international co-operation, and the United Nations Development Decade was proclaimed by our Organization to assist that activity. 93. Without wishing to belittle the efforts made by the United Nations in this area, it is no exaggeration to say that the industrial countries will refuse to make any real contribution to the war against under-development. Without such a commitment, every resolution and recommendation of all the bodies established for that purpose will remain a dead letter.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“It is now unanimously agreed that one of the basic causes of tension in the world is the disparity between levels of economic development in different countries. It has already been pointed out that the gap between the rich and poor countries is widening dramatically, and that two thirds of mankind lives in poverty. Have the formerly colonized countries fully grasped the imperative need for them to strive against the under-development bequeathed by the colonial system, which was based on the exploitation of their wealth for the sole benefit of the occupying Power? Those countries were in a position of inferiority from the moment they attained independence, but they had to take their place at once in an international economic order designed to benefit the most favoured privileged nations.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“We, ourselves shall continue to believe that, whatever the sacrifices to be made and the atrocities to be borne there can be no greater source of pride for any people than to fight aggression and die for freedom. And there can no longer be any doubt that the Palestinian people, who for over twenty years have been the living personification of human suffering, will one day be recognized as having epitomized the noblest virtues of human civilization, in their liberation struggle against Israel and against the perverseness of a certain sector of world opinion. Their inevitable victory will once again establish the invincibility of peoples who have resolved to live in dignity and will overthrow the rule of violence and oppression. 92.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“World opinion is not informed about the atrocities committed by the Israelis in their suppression of the Palestinian resistance, long before the aggression of June 1967. Only now that the resistance is hardening are those atrocities becoming known. But there as elsewhere, colonial repression, no matter how barbaric, can never halt a struggle supported by a broad popular movement and based on legitimate claims. Thus the problem of Israel will remain as long as the rights of the Palestinian people are flouted. That is why Israel will continue to pose a very serious threat to all the peoples of the Middle East, because this internal insecurity will encourage its aggressiveness towards its neighbours and nourish its expansionist designs. 91.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Thus arose the serious problem of the Palestinian refugees and although the United Nations has tried to provide some relief from the humanitarian standpoint, it remains first and foremost a political issue. After all, is it at all conceivable that the Palestinian people can ever pronounce the claim to their lawful rights and yield before the fait accompli? Will they agree to abandon their country to strangers of various nationalities, and thus lose their own nationality? Israel was not founded on territories that were unruled, or unowned. Hence it is not surprising that there should be a patriotic campaign led by the Palestinian organizations, which can be classified as a genuine struggle for the liberation of their country.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“When the Arab countries call for condemnation of the aggression and withdrawal from the occupied territories, their attitude is founded on justice and international law. The international community cannot allow the present situation to continue without creating a precedent that may have incalculable consequences. 90. The fundamental problem, however, lies in the creation of Israel itself. While I do not wish to go into the history of this affair now, there is no doubt that the establishment of Israel in Palestine, a decision against the will of its inhabitants and of the Arab countries, led to a whole people being dispossessed of their homeland.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“In an attempt to arouse sympathy, Israel was at first depicted as a peaceful country, weak and surrounded by enemies, forced to make war to preserve its own existence. Its aggression was then supposed to be of a preventive nature, as if that were any justification. And because nazism made the Jews victims of a planned extermination — which we condemn — clever propaganda succeeded in turning to the account of a new fascist venture in Palestine the genocide that also exterminated tens of millions of innocents in the Soviet Union, Poland, and elsewhere. 89. Stripped of its cloak of sentimentality, the real situation can be seen complete. Israel’s colonialist nature is evident from its territorial annexations and its behaviour towards the international institutions.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“The blameworthy sentimentality of certain purportedly humanitarian agencies, which can be said at best to be confusing disaffection with martyrdom, has almost certainly done Nigeria and Africa more harm than this hateful war. 87. If any proof were needed that aggression has become an accepted and profitable tool in international dealings, we only have to look at events in the Middle East. There we are confronted with a case of clear-cut, premeditated aggression; the aggressor continues to occupy territories which it has placed under its own administration in defiance of all the United Nations decisions, it has annexed the city of Jerusalem, and in the strength of its new position it wants to impose its will on the countries that are the victims of its aggression and impose its conditions on the international community. 88.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“Having an essential interest in this African problem, the Organization of African Unity is trying to find a satisfactory political solution, and to spare the population as much as possible of the suffering and misery that inevitably accompany civil war anywhere in the world. Our attitude is in accord with the principle of the unity and territorial integrity of States, which is one of the cornerstones of the Charter of Addis Ababa. Foreign intervention under the guise of humanitarian aid is intended only to aggravate the crisis and stir up trouble in the African continent. We must be on our guard against such intervention, whose motives and aims we fully appreciate, and we condemn it most strongly.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)
“To turn to another part of Africa, the attempted secession in Nigeria has aroused a wide variety of reactions in the world While we share the humanitarian concern for the sufferings endured by the population, we cannot forget that the original cause was the attempted secession, which unleashed civil war in Nigeria. This humanitarian aspect of the problem, which we as Africans feel most deeply, must not obscure the political aspect, which is essentially that there was a serious attack on the unity of an African country, and on its territorial integrity. That is why the Organization of African Unity took a clear stand against this secession movement.”
1968-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 23 (1968)